Elena Criscuolo, a young researcher at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, is one of the two winners of the "Professions" category of the "La Torretta 2019" Award, the recognition that BCC Milan (Banca di Credito Cooperativo) assigns to people and organizations that stood out for their skills, the projects carried out and the results obtained in the areas of culture, professions, solidarity and sport. "Have been rewarded the stories and businesses that are born in our territory, but that bring luster to the whole Italy", stated Giuseppe Maino, President of BCC Milan.
Among the winners of this VII edition, BCC Milan has indicated Dr. Criscuolo as the best young virologist in Italy. The ceremony took place on Friday, 28th June in the frame of the courtyard of Villa Visconti d'Aragona in Sesto San Giovanni. The award was given her by Stefano Mainetti, CEO of Polihub, the incubator of the youth startups of the Milan Polytechnic.
Dr. Criscuolo graduated in UniSR BSc and MSc Degree in Biotechnology, where she also received her PhD in Molecular Medicine; she works in the laboratory of Prof. Massimo Clementi, Full Professor of Microbiology and Virology UniSR and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine; her study aims at identifying new therapeutic targets to fight Herpes Simplex Virus infection.
"The drugs currently available on the market, both in first and second line, target the stages of virus replication within the infected cell and, although extremely effective, their use is limited because of their resistance and toxicity. The characterization of the molecular mechanisms with which the virus penetrates inside the host cell could lead to the identification of a new class of therapeutic molecules that can be used in combination with the therapy to overcome the limitations, and could represent the first step for development of an effective vaccine".
Elena was also the winner of the "Cecilia Cioffrese" 2018 Award for viral diseases, a prize for young virological researchers: read the news here.
